GROVELAND -- The Rim wildfire near Yosemite National Park caused the evacuation of a San Jose-run campground full of Berkeley school kids on Monday, although the built-up site has so far survived unscathed, according to officials.

About 110 campers from Maybeck High School had arrived earlier Monday for the school's annual tradition, kicking off the school year at the cluster of structures on 46 acres along the Tuolumne River, said San Jose recreation director Art Catbagan. Around 4 p.m., fire officials went to the site just off Highway 120 on the west side of the park and told them they had 15 minutes to evacuate.

"The evacuation was and is voluntary," said Stanislaus National Forest spokesman Jerry Snyder. "They are not orders, but people have heeded these advisories."

The kids quickly scooped up essentials and items of value and were taken to a nearby staging area, where buses picked them up early Tuesday and took them back to Berkeley, Catbagan said.

"I talked to the school this morning and everybody arrived back safely," he said.

School officials could not be reached for comment.

While the evacuation advisory remains in place, Catbagan said San Jose's Family Camp at Yosemite served as a staging area for fire crews on Monday and the flames "hopped, skipped and jumped" around the facilities.

But Snyder said it did burn through the area, and "there is still a threat there. There's still plenty of fire activity."

Advertisement

He said early Tuesday evening that the flames were traveling away from the camp and had crossed the Tuolumne River. More than 10,100 acres have been burned since the Rim Fire flared up Saturday afternoon due to unknown causes, with no containment as of 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Catbagan said it wasn't the first time a fire has threatened the camp, which the city has owned since buying it from Oakland in 1968. He has been through two himself, including the 1999 Pilot Fire, which damaged some structures that needed to be rebuilt.

The camp is a full-service site, with wood-framed canvas tents, a dining hall, office, store, showers and amphitheater among amenities. It has 60 tent cabins that can sleep up to six people each, and usually hosts 100 to 250 campers during summer months, Catbagan said.